This Things I Believe

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything meaningful – alas, it’s a long time since I’ve written anything at all here. And I keep digging into my mind for a good nugget of thought to grasp on for opening this diatribe of tasty blog goodness.

Some wonderful nuggets of recent wisdom:

  • “In the nature of human discourse..” (hmm.. too much John Adams on HBO)
  • “The greater good” (too much Earth Day)
  • A gallon of gas is more than a gallon of milk (oil prices)
  • I am America, and So Are You (saw Colbert Report live)
  • Every dog has his day (ok, now I’m getting too cliché)

But I came to picking this blog post title, and it’s based on a quote from one of my favorite shows, The Simpsons (it’s actually Homer misreading the title of a record called “These Things I Believe” in an attempt to win a radio contest (episode #9f01 for the most diehard geeks in the room)), and I realized that in a number of ways, belief has been at the forefront of a lot I’ve been thinking about lately.

Let’s start the conversation with the fact that the Pope was in New York, enough to make anyone even the least bit religious consider the role that faith has in their lives – how it establishes themselves, they way they choose to live, and ultimately, what they believe in most. Belief, of course, is at times the most transient and fleeting and the most strong of bonds, depending on the circumstances of which it is, or is not applied.

Many writers and scholars who are more passionate, more experienced, and, yes, more thoughtful than I have spent lifetimes talking about the value of belief, and how it may or may not be the right thing for people; how having it thrust upon you is appropriate, or inappropriate; how believing in one thing/person/god/notion over the other is right, or wrong; how at the end of the day, belief itself comes down to recognizing fallibility – in ourselves, in others, in the nature of human beings, and how that notion can be both scary and fulfilling at the same time.

So, I figured it was time to really find out what I believe in, and as a result, what I really want, based on the belief systems I’ve been subjected to (willingly or not), and by listening to the discourse (there’s that word again) of people different than I.

The last few weeks have introduced me to some great people in this crazy world of social media, both in person, and virtually. And what I’ve really began to realize, is the value of believing in the most important thing of all, the one thing that you have under the worst of circumstances – and that is belief in yourself and what you’re capable of. I watch many people move mountains with their words; I watch many others with their deeds; still more with their passions; even more with their results.

The power to create something out of nothing besides belief and willpower is always outstanding to me, and the fact that people can make a difference, whether on a global scale, a national scale, a local scale, or even in the relationships they share with individuals is incredible. I’ve found more people that believe in something that I’ve ever seen before, and so many of them plot of how exactly they want to change the world, and what exactly they believe.

The Internet, I believe, was created for this purpose. For people from all walks of life, all over the world, to share in themselves, in their belief system, in their joys and passions, in their pain and angst, in their recovery from where there was nothing left, in their search to find who they are, and what they believe in, and how they’d like to learn and grow from this crazy thing called life.

My humble little outpost here on the Internet started as a place for me to showcase a little bit about myself, and what’s important to me, and to share, whenever and however appropriate what I believe in. I feel humbled in the grace and poise and presence of many of the great bloggers I’ve read before, but extremely excited to be a part of this world, where so many people belong, and so much is focused on bringing people together, instead of driving them apart.

These things I believe come from my life, your life and what lies ahead. And for those who’ve been a part of mine, both recently, and before, I’d like to say, thank you for helping me to be who I am today.

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